Use Inventory or non-Inventory items for QB Desktop Pro

Hello hiRes22,

I want to clarify a few things so we can give you the exact data you want. Is your concern about how your bookkeeper set up your items as non-inventory? Are you trying to change your non-inventory items to inventory?

Additional details about this would be much appreciated so we can assist you more.

Before going down one road, I am trying to find the smoothest path. It is more intuitive to me to convert to inventory parts and take advantage of QB reporting features however that comes at the cost of making lots of adjustments to the database as I sell my products based on quantities I sell in (by the case or in singles) and whether it is a retail or wholesale or distributor to whom I am selling. At least I understand how this would work.

If I stay with non-inventory items, I need to understand how P&L and balance sheets are populated with the correct costs associated with production and it's not apparent to me how that works. I do not need to use QB for inventory control.

Does this help?

Thank you for providing detailed information about your concern, @hiRes22.

Allow me to share some insights about the difference between non-inventory items and inventory items. 

In the Balance Sheet, inventory is tracked as an asset because you spend money on it and it has value. The cost of the inventory items is not yet recorded until they are sold on a customer sales form. This is also considered as a current asset which means that the company plans to sell the asset in the short term. Also, inventory is said to be anything that will incorporate for future use in your business operations. 

While non-inventory items are tracked in the Profit and Loss statement as a current cost (Cost of Good Sold) when they are purchased. You will only see the cost of your Non-Inventory items on your Profit & Loss statement after the items associated with them have been sold.

Also, you can read through this article link if you want to add, edit, or delete items: Add, edit, and delete items. It also provides you the list of frequently asked questions about items. 

Feel free to leave a comment below if you have additional questions about inventories. I'm always here to help you. Stay safe and take care always, hiRes22.

As far as I can gather from these answers, my situation is 6 of one half dozen of the other. The only real difference is when the money is counted as spent. In the inventory case, it's when inventory is sold. In non-inventory case, it is immediate. Regardless, I still have to go through lot's of gyrations to get my accounts in order.

Well, if accounting was fun, everyone would be doing it.